Letter from the Editor

Mike Lovett

As we dig out from yet another winter storm here in Waltham, I’m happy to report some heartwarming news. Brandeis Magazine has won two CASE District 1 Excellence Awards: a bronze medal for best magazine writing and an honorable mention for best overall design.

The good news comes as we think hard about ways of sustaining Brandeis Magazine’s quality and reach three times annually. After much discussion, we have devised a plan that will help us minimize the impact of rising printing and postal costs, and keep the magazine’s editorial content and design at the level of excellence you have come to expect.

Starting with the Summer 2014 issue, readers living outside North America will receive a reminder email urging them to read the online version of Brandeis Magazine, at www.brandeis.edu/magazine. Each digital edition includes the same content and artwork as the print version, plus some Web exclusives. If you prefer to continue receiving Brandeis Magazine in print, we will be happy to mail it to you — just email us at magazine@brandeis.edu.

Class Notes will be included in Brandeis Magazine online and in print twice a year, excluding the Summer issue. We look forward to receiving your news and will continue to include it in the Fall/Winter and Spring issues.

Finally, parents of current Brandeis undergraduates will receive the Fall/Winter print issue of the magazine, and will be able to view all other issues online.

Rest assured, we remain committed to giving you the most engaging alumni magazine possible. This issue is no exception. Our cover story features an in-depth interview with veteran educator Arthur Levine ’70, who offers a provocative perspective on thorny issues facing higher education as it refits to teach “digital native” undergrads.

In another feature, we follow Van Ta, Heller MA/SID’12, a young lawyer who uses old-fashioned detective work and modern technology to rescue young people trafficked into sexual slavery and sweatshop labor in Vietnam and China. (You won’t see his photo in our pages; running it could put him at even greater risk in the seamy underworld he navigates.)

Our third feature explores another dark place — the secret relationship that developed between the Vatican and Mussolini in the decades before and during World War II. With access to recently opened papal archives, Brown University professor David I. Kertzer, PhD’74, has discovered vivid details of an unholy alliance that ensured catastrophe for Italy’s Jews.

On a final heartwarming note, we’re already planning our Summer issue, which will focus on love. If you met your spouse, your soulmate or a kindred spirit at Brandeis, we’d like to hear from you. In 300 words or fewer, please tell us your Louie love story: how and where you met, and what was special, funny, disastrous or otherwise memorable about your encounter. Send your story to magazine@brandeis.edu no later than May 2, and it might be included in the Summer issue.